


Embarrassing Dinners, Family Secrets, and Gnome Wars

by tabbytabbytabby



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, College Student Stiles, Cuddling & Snuggling, Deputy Derek Hale, Derek is a Softie, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Family Dinners, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Gnomes, Happy Ending, Humor, M/M, Oblivious Derek, Pining Derek, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-05-06 21:48:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14656901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tabbytabbytabby/pseuds/tabbytabbytabby
Summary: When Stiles is abruptly left after a one night stand only to find out they’ll be attending the frat party with the hottest girl on campus, he quickly devised a plan to bring a fake date. Throw in family secrets and garden gnomes, then they’re in for one Hale of a time.





	Embarrassing Dinners, Family Secrets, and Gnome Wars

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt: "a fake/pretend relationship with all the hales alive... you know the usual buut its just soo good, and if you like thinking about characters you can invent all of the hales personalities.. and they are werewolves and stiles doesn't know or does he ahah and derek has issues. a classic. and badass stiles saves everyone in the end lol"
> 
> Thanks to Kacie for beta reading

Derek’s used to this by now. He’s used to walking into the station and finding Stiles casually leaning against his desk as he talks to one of the other deputies, and used to the blinding smile he throws Derek’s way the moment he sees him walk in. It’s happened so often that Derek’s able to ignore the way his stomach flutters at the smile being directed at him and puts on his usual scowl as he makes his way over to his desk.

“What is it this time Stiles?” Derek asks, taking a seat behind his desk and starting to sort through the paperwork.

“Rude,” Stiles mutters, throwing himself down in the seat across from Derek’s desk, “Maybe I’m just here to see my favorite deputy.”

“We all know Parrish is your favorite deputy,” Derek says offhandedly.

“Not true,” Stiles says. Derek tries not to frown when he doesn’t hear a lie there, “Parrish is great but you’ve been my favorite deputy for a while now.”

Derek doesn’t let himself question why. It won’t do any good. Instead he tries to redirect the conversation, “That doesn’t explain what you’re really doing here.”

Derek looks up when he hears Stiles sigh to see him leaning back in his chair and frowning at the wall. He kind of feels bad that he’s the reason Stiles looks like that. Well not really, but he helped lead him there. He’s just used to Stiles coming into the station to whine about school. Sure, he used to do it to his Dad but the moment he found out Derek would actually listen to him he started coming to Derek.

Usually Derek doesn’t mind listening to Stiles rant. He likes learning about Stiles and his life. It’s just when it gets on the more personal side of things that Derek starts regretting listening in the first place. In the four years that Derek has known Stiles the two have become close and somewhere along the way Derek’s feelings for the human have become a little less than platonic. Which is why it’s so hard to hear about Stiles and all the girls and guys he brings home.

Unfortunately for Derek that seems to be the topic of conversation for today, “There’s a guy,” Stiles says. He rolls his eyes when Derek simply raises an eyebrow in a silent gesture for him to continue, “He’s in my fraternity. He’s hot and we flirted. And a couple nights ago I basically bared my soul to the guy and told him I wanted something with him. He seemed on the same page and then we slept together and I woke up to find him gone and a sticky note on my chest thanking me for a great fuck.”

“What an ass,” Derek says, feeling offended and a little bit angry on Stiles’ behalf.

“That’s not even the worst part,” Stiles continues, “My frat is throwing this big ass party tomorrow night and according to the latest gossip, he’s coming to the party and bringing the hottest most perfect girl in the university with him. And of course I’m going to be there alone and he’s totally going to think it’s because I’m hung up on him.”

“Aren’t you?” Derek asks.

Stiles scoffs, “No. I mean, sure I told him I wanted a relationship. But I was also drunk off my ass and lonely. He’s actually the biggest asshole I’ve ever met. The only thing he has going for him are his looks. But I still don’t want him to think I’m pining for him or something.”

“So bring someone else,” Derek suggests, eyes drifting back to the papers in front of him. He doesn’t know why he suggest it. He hates the idea of Stiles finding yet another warm body to bring with him to the party.

“Oh my god,” Stiles says, drawing Derek’s attention back to him, “You should date me! Please.”

Derek feels his heart stop at Stiles’ words, only able to utter out a simple word, “What?”

"I need you to go on a date with me to my party I'm throwing, because you're a trillion times hotter and more perfect than that girl and that'll show him I don't need his ass," Stiles says, looking far too excited by the thought of it.

Derek isn’t sure what to do. He’s wanted to date Stiles for a while but he isn’t sure how well he’ll able to handle doing it knowing that it’s all fake. How is he supposed to go to some party with Stiles and pretend to be his date and make it out with his heart intact?

Still, it’s Stiles and Derek has never been able to deny him anything, “I guess we could.”

“Are you sure?” Stiles asks, “Because if you’re not…”

“No,” Derek says, cutting him off, “No it’s fine. I’ll do it.”

Stiles beams over at him, “You’re the best man.”

Before Derek can say anything, Cora walks into the station. She smirks when she spots Derek and Stiles and heads right for them. “Hey big bro. Stiles.”

Stiles turns his grin on Cora, “Hey Deputy Hale.”

“How many times have I told you just to call me Cora?” Cora rolls her eyes and ruffles Stiles’ hair, before turning her attention to Derek, “So Der, got any big plans for tonight? Oh wait, you're so emotionally stunted that no one wants to hang with you ever."

Derek’s eyes move over to Stiles to see him glaring at Cora. The looks on Stiles’ face surprises him. He actually looks offended on Derek’s behalf. Then of course he has to open his mouth, "Derek and I actually have a date tomorrow."

"You want to say that again slowly?" Cora says, her voice hard and tone even, clearly not believing Stiles.

So Stiles repeats himself, his heart remaining steady the whole time. Cora’s eyes go wide and she punches Derek on the shoulder, "I'm telling Mom!" and sprints out the door.

Stiles’ brow furrows as he stares after her, “That was weird.”

Derek leans across the desk and cuffs him upside the head, "You idiot. Are you insane, why did you tell Cora? Ugh."

“I’m confused,” Stiles says, rubbing the back of his head where Derek just cuffed him.

"My mother has this thing about not trusting people and everyone in our family has to bring the person they want to go out with over for family dinner before their first date,” Derek explains. “She's gonna demand you come over for dinner before we go out."

Stiles eyes widen, “Oh shit.”

“Oh shit is right,” Derek mutters, “She’s going to eat you alive.”

“What are we going to do?” Stiles asks.

Derek sighs, running a hand down his face, “We’re going to have to try and fool her. Knowing Cora she’s already gotten ahold of my mother and there is no way I’m going to deal with their bullshit if I have to tell them this was all a joke.”

Derek frowns when he’s hit with a sudden wave of sadness coming off Stiles but the human quickly covers it up. Which is even more confusing. Stiles has no idea he’s a werewolf. He shouldn’t know he needs to hide his emotions. It hits Derek that it’s probably just something he’s used to doing. Stiles had to grow up pretty fast when his Mom died. He’s most likely used to having to cover up how he feels for his Dad’s sake.

“So we’re going to try and fool your whole family?” Stiles asks, breaking Derek out of his thoughts.

Derek shrugs, “Looks like we’re going to have to.”

“Great,” Stiles squeaks, “How hard could that be? It’s not as if they haven’t known me for years or anything.”

“Which might make it easier,” Derek says, “We’ll just tell them we’ve grown closer and developed feelings for each other and finally decided to try it out. And when in doubt, just don’t say anything. They can’t trap you in a lie if you don’t give them anything to use against you.”

“Right. Okay. Me keeping my mouth shut. That’s going to work out great.”

Derek does his best to give him a reassuring smile, “It’s going to be fine Stiles.”

***

Despite his reassurances Derek himself is freaking out. He doesn’t know why he thought having Stiles be around his family as his pretend date was a better idea than just telling them the truth. Maybe because they figured out how he feels about Stiles a long time ago and he knows he wouldn’t be able to handle their pitying looks if they found out it had all been a lie. He knows they’ll find out eventually. But at least with this he can put it off.

He gets his parents thing with trust. He does. Being werewolves it makes sense that they’d be careful about who they trust. Derek has witnessed firsthand what happens when the wrong person discovers their secret. He’d almost lost his family because he trusted the wrong person and she’d attempted to burn his family alive. His mother had become even stricter about her “bringing who you date home first” rule after that.

So Derek gets it. He just doesn’t get why he has to do that with Stiles. His Mom knows Stiles. The only reason she could have for going through with this would be to give Derek hell about it.

Derek picks Stiles up at his father’s place later that night. It’s not uncommon for Stiles to stay with the Sheriff on weekends sometimes. He says it helps him study since there’s almost always a party going on at his frat house. Stiles rarely goes to them. Which is why it’s weird that he’s suddenly decided to go to this one.

John Stilinski opens the door with a stern look that has Derek wanting to flee back down the walkway and back to his car. In all of this he hadn’t actually considered how his boss would feel about him dating his son.

“Derek,” John says, looking him over. He must sense how nervous is because he rolls his eyes, lips twitching up into a smile as he stands back to let Derek into the house. “Come in. Stiles should be right down.”

Derek nods and leans against the wall with his hands the pockets of his jacket. The Sheriff leans against the doorframe leading into the kitchen, arms crossed as he stares at Derek. All Derek can do is try not to squirm under his gaze.

“I feel like now would be the time for me to ask you what your intentions are with my son,” John says, “but I think we both know he’s the one we need to worry about getting handsy.”

“Dad,” Stiles whines appearing at the top of the stairs and starting to make his way down. “Seriously?”

Derek knows Stiles and the Sheriff are talking but all he can focus on is Stiles. Derek is used to seeing him and T-shirt’s and flannels, nothing like the dark blue Henley and jeans he has on. He has the sleeves rolled up, showing off the veins of on his arms.

“Derek?”

Derek’s eyes snap up from Stiles’ arms to his face to see Stiles eyeing him curiously. “Yes?”

“I was just asking if you’re ready to go?” Stiles asks.

“Yeah,” Derek has to clear his throat when that simple word comes out strangled, “Yeah I’m ready. Let’s go.”

Derek tries not to blush when he sees the Sheriff giving him a knowing look when he mumbles out a “you look nice” to Stiles as they exit the house, which just causes Stiles to look even more confused. They haven’t even made it to the car and Derek is already making a fool of himself.

“Are you alright?” Stiles asks as he buckles up his seatbelt.

Derek’s hands clench around the steering wheel before he moves one to put the car into reverse and backs out of the driveway. He uses that as an excuse for waiting to answer. He’s honestly a little afraid of what will come out of his mouth right now.

Still, he has to say something. So, as they make their way down the road towards Derek’s parents house Derek responds, “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

He sees Stiles shrug out of the corner of his eye, “You just seem a little tense and flustered. And sure, I’ve seen you tense but that’s at work.”

Sometimes Stiles is far too observant for his own good, just not enough to pick up on Derek’s two biggest secrets. “I guess I’m just a little nervous about tonight,” Derek tells him. “Not many people have been able to fool my Mom before.”

“Well that’s reassuring,” Stiles mutters.

“Sorry,” Derek sighs, “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Not any better big guy,” Stiles says, but he’s smiling. “Look, it’s us. It’s me. Your Mom knows me. Surely it’ll be easier to convince her we’re together than it would some stranger.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you don’t date,” Stiles shrugs, “your family might have issues with trusting people but so do you. You wouldn’t bring home just anyone.”

Derek can’t deny that Stiles is right. Derek doesn’t date. He hasn’t been able to since Kate. It’s been hard to trust anyone enough to let them that close. Then Stiles happened. He knew Stiles before then, sure. But he never really let himself notice. Stiles is four years younger and their paths never crossed all that much. At least not until Derek became a deputy and started seeing Stiles around the station.

Seeing Stiles that first time he walked into the station after being away at college had been an awakening of sorts. All Derek could do was stare at the once gangly kid. He’d definitely been obvious, getting teased by Parrish, Theo, and the Sheriff. It only got worse when Cora became a deputy and started working at the station.

Derek’s a little startled when he realizes they’re pulling onto the road that leads to his parents house in the preserve. He glances at Stiles to see him staring out the window. When he looks back he has to slam on the breaks because in front of the car stands a small creature with big wide eyes. A gnome.

“Shit,” Derek mutters.

The gnome raises its tiny fists in the air and lets out a primal yell before charging towards the car. Derek throws the door open, ignoring Stiles’ shout of protest as he gets out of the car. He grabs the gnome by its shirt and sends it flying before it has a chance to reach the car, “I don’t think so you little shit. I just got a new paint job.”

“Seriously?” Stiles says, peeking his head out the window, “That’s what you’re worried about?”

Derek sends a glare in his direction, “Just stay in the car. And get down!”

He’s trying really hard not to wolf out and chase the gnomes off right now, not wanting to scare Stiles off. But it’s really hard. He can hear other gnomes hiding in the trees, just waiting to wage their assault. As if on cue Derek hears more screaming and then the sound of at least a dozen tiny feet charging towards him. Great.

Except then they all just stop in front of him, beady eyes eyeing him critically. One of the older ones steps forward, “We have come to give you and your kind one last chance to leave our land in peace.”

Derek has to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Of course that’s what this is about. His family has been dealing with this group of gnomes suddenly thinking they have some claim to the Hale land. They moved in a few months ago and claimed that their ancestors had lived on this land before the wolves chased them off and that they were back to reclaim what was theirs. They’ve been having a territory war ever since.

Mostly it’s been the gnomes doing annoying things to piss Derek and his family off, and while they were annoying they had proved to be harmless. Derek has a feeling that is about to change.

“This is Hale land,” Derek says, repeating the same phrase he’s said what feels like a thousand times before, “we’re not leaving. And clearly you don’t intend to either. So we have a choice. We can attempt to live in peace with one another or you can start a fight there is no way you can possibly win.”

“We don’t need to fight,” the elder gnome speaks, “we have more civilized ways of handling our disputes.”

Derek is almost afraid to ask what he could possibly be referring to, so he knows there probably isn’t a way around it, “And what would that be?”

“A dance off!” One of the younger gnomes yells.

Other gnomes nod their head and voice their approval at the suggestion. Derek is sure they must be kidding. Except they all just stare at him expectantly.

“You can’t be serious,” he says.

“We are,” the elder gnome says, “it’s a tradition of ours that goes back spanning many generations. We will have a dance off and whoever wins gets to stay on the land.”

“That is the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard. I am not having a dance off with you. None of my family is. This is _our_ land.”

The gnomes make sounds of displeasure, their eyes narrowing as they look at Derek. The elder gnome speaks again, “Then you leave us no choice. You have just declared war against us.”

“I did no such thing!”

“You refused to handle this in a civil manner, and even mocked our customs,” the elder gnome says, “That is an insult against our kind. We cannot let it stand.”

Derek throws his hands up in frustration, “I tried to offer you all a peaceful way to handle this, one where we would both win. You’re the ones who are being stubborn little assholes wanting to do some ridiculous dance off.”

One of the younger gnomes lets out a loud screech and then comes charging at Derek with its head down. Derek barely has time to jump out of the way before more gnomes come charging at him. Derek does his best to remain calm and stay in control. Then one of the gnomes bites his leg and that’s it. Derek throws his head back and roars, feeling his shift take over. Then he’s grabbing any gnome that comes near him and throwing them into the trees.

Once he has an opportunity he runs to the car and gets in. He sits there, staring at the gnomes still standing in front of the car, wondering what he’s supposed to do. It’s one thing to throw them but running them down? That would just make things worse. But he needs to get by. He revs the engine, before throwing the car into drive and speeding forward. The gnome jump out of the way, shaking their fists at Derek as he drives by.

Derek drives until he’s sure they’re far enough away and then parks the car again. His hands are clenching tightly at the steering wheel as he takes a few deeps breaths. He’s calmed down enough by now for his claws to retract and his eyes to go back to normal, but he knows Stiles had to have seen what happened. He can feel Stiles’ eyes on him and he’s really not sure what he’s supposed to say.

“Derek?” Stiles’ voice breaks the quiet of the car, “What the hell was that?”

Derek takes another deep breath, keeping his gaze focused straight ahead. He doesn’t think he can handle seeing the look on Stiles’ face right now. “I'm a werewolf. I'm sorry if that freaks you out and you hate me now."

He does look over when Stiles snorts to see Stiles staring at him, a look of fondness on his face, "Dude, we've known each other for years. I figured that out ages ago. I just didn't know fucking gnomes existed. What the hell?"

“You’ve known?” Derek asks, feeling a little floored. “But how? I was so careful.”

“Uh huh,” Stiles says, not looking convinced, “I know you think you were. And to anyone that doesn’t know about werewolves you probably did a good job of keeping your secret. My Dad doesn’t know, if that helps.”

“But how did you figure it out?”

“There were a lot of things about you that didn’t add up,” Stiles says, “Your family is pretty big on secrets, which they are more than entitled to. But usually when people are that secretive it means there’s something sketchy going on. I just… I wanted to make sure you really were the guy I thought you were.”

“And who is that?”

“Someone amazing. Someone that will do anything for his family and the people he cares about. Someone that has so many walls built up around him because he’s afraid of being hurt but still cares about people. Someone who’s been through some shit but has come out the other side a better person. Someone that deserves to be loved and cared about and taken care of.”

“You really see all that?” Derek asks, feeling a little overwhelmed.

Stiles gives him a small smiles, reaching out and squeezing his hand, “You deserve the world Derek Hale. I just hope that one day you’ll trust someone enough with your heart to let them give it to you.”

Derek wants to shout that he already has. That that person is sitting in the car right next to him. But he doesn’t get the chance. Before he can speak his phone dings, signaling a text message.

He sighs, looking down at it to see a text from Laura, “Mom’s starting to think you two bailed or ran off and eloped or something. Where are you?”

Derek rolls his eyes as he types out a response, “On our way. We’re about a mile out.”

“Ah so you stopped just out of earshot to make out,” Laura responds, “I’ll let Mom know ;)”

Derek growls, barely refraining from throwing his phone out the window. He looks to Stiles when he feels a squeeze on his arm, “Everything alright?”

Derek nods, “Yeah. That was Laura. Apparently Mom’s wondering where we are. She thinks we ran off or eloped or something.”

Stiles snorts, “Of course she does.”

Derek shakes his head and puts the car back into drive before driving them the short distance to his parent’s house. Derek spends the drive debating over the best way to explain the situation to his mother, because he knows he has to tell her. Even if the gnomes weren’t determined to wage war on them, there’s still the fact that Stiles knows their secret. Which his mother isn’t exactly going to take lightly.

Talia is waiting for them on the porch when they arrive. Derek turns the car off and pockets his keys before turning to Stiles, “You ready?”

Stiles shrugs, giving him a small smile, “As I’ll ever be.”

They get out of the car, Derek steeling himself for the conversation he knows he’s about to have with his mother. She gives Derek a long look as they walk up the steps before turning to Stiles with a pleased smile, “Stiles! I’m so happy you could make it.”

Stiles shoots Derek a look as Talia takes his arm and starts leading him into the house. Derek understands the look. He’s feeling the same way. It’s not really as if either of them had a choice in coming here tonight, but he supposes it’s nice that his mother wants to keep the allusion otherwise.

“I can’t tell you how happy I was to hear that you and Derek are together now,” his Mom is saying as she whisks Stiles into the living room.

“You are?” Stiles asks.

“We are,” Talia says, sitting down on the couch and pulling Stiles down next to her. “We’ve been hoping that Derek would finally get up the nerve and ask you out.”

“Apparently that didn’t actually happen,” Laura says from her spot in the big recliner next to the couch, “but however it happened we’re just glad it did so he can finally stop pining.”

“Pining?” Stiles looks to Derek but Derek quickly averts his gaze.

“Oh yes,” Laura laughs, “he’s been pretty hopeless. Talking about how amazing you are and how he wishes you would just notice him.”

Derek kind of wishes the ground would swallow him up right now. This is not how he planned for tonight to go. “I was not pining,” Derek grumbles.

“Sure you weren’t,” Cora says, patting Derek on the shoulder on her way into the kitchen. “All those longing looks you give him when he comes into the station are strictly platonic, aren’t they?”

“Shut up,” Derek growls.

“Now now,” Talia says, sounding more amused than anything, “You two stop embarrassing your brother.”

“Thank you,” Derek says, giving his Mom a grateful smile.

He regrets it when he sees the familiar mischievous twinkle in her eye. “You two are stealing all my fun. I haven’t even had a chance to pull out the baby pictures yet.”

“Mom,” Derek whines.

Talia chuckles, reaching underneath the coffee table and coming back with a worn book. She must have planned this. Of course she did. She sends a smirk Derek’s way before putting the book on her lap and flipping it open.

“This is Derek when he was 4 and decided he wanted to be Belle for Halloween,” Talia says, pointing to one of the pictures, “He was so excited.”

“There’s not a flare on the eyes,” Stiles says, looking from the picture up to Talia, “isn’t that something that happens?”

Talia frowns, looking from Derek back to Stiles, “Why would that happen?”

“Well because of the whole werewolf thing,” Stiles says, “I know someone and in his mugshot his eyes flared because of the flash. Is that something you can control?”

“It is,” Derek says, “some wolves just like to mess with people so they’ll flash their eyes briefly when the camera is going off to cause the flare.”

Talia slowly turns her head back to Derek, “You told him?”

“He didn’t have to,” Stiles tells her, “I figured it out ages ago.”

“Ages ago?” Talia asks, “But how?”

“Well for one I’m not stupid,” Stiles says, “I’ve known you guys for years. I kind of figured something was going on here so I started investigating and well…”

Talia sighs, leaning back against the couch, “You always were too clever for your own good.”

“You’re not mad, are you?”

“No sweetheart, I’m not mad. Just surprised. Though I guess I really shouldn’t be. If anyone was going to figure out our secret it was you.”

“I’m just surprised you kept it quiet that you knew for so long,” Cora says.

Stiles shrugs, “I figured you’d all tell me eventually when you realized you could trust me. I know that’s not what happened here but…”

“I do trust you Stiles,” Derek cuts in, “we all do. This is just… the world we live in isn’t always safe.”

Stiles snorts, “Yeah buddy, I know that. But didn’t you think it might be safer for me to know? Or better yet, my Dad? Since he’s out there with you sometimes putting his life on the line? I know you think keeping this secret is keeping us safe, but you have to realize that we might be better off knowing so we can be prepared and not blindsided if say, some rogue wolf decides to spring an attack on campus or something.”

“Someone tried to hurt you?”

“There might have been a confrontation with a beta from a pack near campus. He was confused because he could smell you on me,” Stiles tells him, acting as if it’s no big deal. “He was worried someone was encroaching on their territory. Which is a little ridiculous. It’s a college campus, of course there are going to be other wolves and creatures there. He was cool once I explained I had friends back home that were wolves. And don’t worry, I didn’t mention names.”

“We’re just glad it worked out okay,” Talia says, “and we’re sorry we kept this from you. But you have to understand how dangerous things could be for us if our secret got out. We’ve had to be extra careful after an incident we had a few years ago.”

“Kate?” Stiles asks. When Talia nods he shakes his head, his scent souring, “I knew there had to be more than her being batshit crazy over Derek rejecting her.”

“She was a hunter,” Laura says, her face dark, “she wormed her way in here, using her looks and charm to get to Derek. We’re just lucky he clued on before anyone could get hurt.”

Derek can tell Stiles has questions but he stays silent, giving Derek an understanding look before turning his attention back to Talia, “You have to know that I would never do anything to hurt Derek or your family.”

Talia smiles, patting his hand, “I know that dear. I can see how much you care about Derek. I’m just happy things are finally starting to work out for you to.”

“Yeah,” Stiles says, his eyes never leaving Derek, “me too.”

“Dinner’s done!” Cora calls from the kitchen.

“Finally,” Laura groans, “I’m starving.”

“You’re hardly starving Laura,” Talia says, shaking her head fondly as she stands up.

Derek watches his mother and sister walk into the kitchen, listening as they chatter away, before turning his attention back to Stiles. Stiles is already watching him, looking slightly hesitant. Derek gives him a small smile before offering him a hand up. He can feel his family's eyes on them and it’s then that he remembers the role he has to play.

He uses his grip on Stiles’ hand to pull him closer, until they’re standing chest to chest and he can wrap his arms around Stiles’ waist. He tries not to think about how right this all feels, how easy. It’s not real, no matter how much he wishes it was.

“You okay?” he asks, running his nose along Stiles’ cheek.

“Yeah,” Stiles breathes, “I’m a lot better now.”

Derek smiles, pulling back to look at Stiles with a silent question in his eyes. Stiles smiles back, bringing a hand up to cup Derek’s cheek, letting his thumb brush along the skin below his eye. Derek turns his face, kissing Stiles’ palm, his eyes never leaving Stiles’ brown ones. Stiles moves his hand to tangle in the back of Derek’s hair as he leans in slowly, and Derek knows what he’s doing. He’s giving Derek the option to pull away and stop this. Derek doesn’t think he could pull away if he wanted to. He knows he might not ever get an opportunity like this and he selfishly wants to take it.

Stiles’ lips are soft and hesitant as they brush across his in smooth, testing motions. Derek lets Stiles’ take the lead, accepting whatever Stiles’ is willing to give.

When Stiles pulls back he rests his forehead against Derek’s, a soft smile on his face, “Yeah I’m definitely all good now.”

Derek chuckles, “Good to know.”

“Well if you’re both good maybe you can get your asses in here and eat?” Laura says, “Because if not we’re eating without you.”

“We will do no such thing,” Talia says, “but really boys, do hurry. We don’t want the food to get cold.”

“Dad’s not even here yet,” Derek reminds her, taking Stiles’ hand and leading him into the dining room.

“He won’t be joining us,” Talia says, “He was asked if he’d stay over since one of the firemen from the next shift called in sick.”

Derek nods. It’s not surprising or uncommon. His Dad was always doing what he could to help out at the fire department. He said he’d rather stay over than leave the next shift undermanned. His Dad’s love of his job and looking out for their community is what pushed him to be a deputy. Derek wanted to help people, just in a different vein than his father. Laura though, Laura had only been all too happy to follow in their Dad’s footsteps.

Dinner is a loud affair, with Derek’s mother and sisters pestering Stiles with questions. Derek’s pleased when it mostly sticks to school ones. All of them are interested in Stiles’ life at college and Stiles is all too happy to fill the room with stories about his classes and things his frat brothers have gotten up to.

The night flies by and before Derek knows it he’s driving Stiles back to his Dad’s place, containers of leftovers in the backseat that Talia had insisted they take. Both of them were all too happy to do it. Talia is an amazing cook. Someone would have to be crazy to turn down food from her.

Derek parks the car and turns it off before getting out. The lights are still on so he knows that John is still up, most likely waiting to question Stiles about their date.

“I had fun tonight,” Stiles says, giving him a small smile. For a moment it does almost feel like a date. Derek wants to imagine it is.

“I did to,” Derek says, stepping closer to Stiles.

Stiles glances over, noticing the curtains fluttering and gives Derek a knowing look as he steps further into Derek’s space. He leans in, his lips so close to Derek’s they’re almost touching.

“We have an audience.”

Derek nods, causing their noses to brush, “We do.”

“He’s probably expecting us to kiss,” Stiles tells him.

“Yeah,” Derek breathes.

“So what should we do about that?”

Derek leans in and kisses Stiles softly, letting himself enjoy the feeling of their lips brushing gently together.

He pulls back when he hears John mutter “Finally” from the other side of the wall. Stiles gives him a small smile, leaning up to kiss his cheek, before stepping back, “I’ll see you tomorrow night Mr. Hale.”

He shoots Derek a wink and then disappears into the house, leaving him standing there. Derek can’t keep the smile off his face as he walks back to his car.

***

Stiles shows up at Derek’s house at a little past 8 on the next night. Derek’s just gotten out of the shower and has only managed to pull on a pair of sweats when Stiles knocks on his door. He lets Stiles in and starts back towards is room, figuring that either Stiles will stay in the living room or follow. He’s not the least bit surprised when Stiles follows after him.

“You have a tattoo?” Stiles asks, sounding a little breathless.

Derek glances at him over his shoulder. He’s not surprised Stiles hasn’t seen it. It’s on the middle of his back and Stiles usually sees him in his uniform.

“Yeah,” Derek says, pulling a shirt out of his closet and examining it. He shrugs, about to pull it off the hanger when Stiles’ voice sounds behind him.

“No! Not that one!”

Derek frowns when Stiles makes his way over to his closet and starts looking through the shirts. He pulls out a dark grey Henley and hands it to Derek, ducking his head as a light blush coats his cheeks, “This one. It looks good on you and it brings out your eyes.”

Derek nods, pulling on the shirt in confusion. “Thanks.”

Stiles clears his throat, putting his hands in his pockets, “So uhh the tattoo?”

“It’s our family crest,” Derek says, “for lack of a better word. It’s a triskele. It can have can have different meanings but to wolves it stands for alpha, beta, omega. It symbolizes that wolves can rise or fall to any status. A beta can become an alpha, and likewise an alpha can fall all the way to an omega.”

“And you’re a beta,” Stiles says, nodding his head.

“Yeah. Mom’s the alpha and Laura, Cora, and I are betas. Dad’s human though. It drives Mom crazy given his job but he says that if there are other humans out there risking their lives in order to protect others than he should be able to as well. He’s pretty stubborn.”

Stiles smiles, “That sounds like my Dad. I’ve tried to convince him to consider retiring or taking a break but he thinks the town needs him too much. He’s not wrong, but it still drives me crazy. I worry about him constantly.”

“He knows,” Derek tells him, “He doesn’t like worrying you but he also needs to keep the town safe. But he’s always aware Stiles. He does what he can to keep himself safe.”

“Yeah. I can’t really say much since I’m going to be joining the FBI. Which can be dangerous depending on what I’m doing.”

“And then it’ll be his turn to worry,” Derek tells him, “Not that he doesn’t already.”

Stiles just nods, turning around and examining the books Derek has lining his shelves as Derek gets dressed. When Derek is done he grabs his wallet and his keys and turns to Stiles, “You ready?”

“Yep. Let’s do this.”

The ride to the party is filled with Stiles animated chatter as he talks about the course he’s taking on forensic science. He sounds so excited that all Derek can do is listen. Derek’s pleased that Stiles at least seems to have found his calling.

The street is lined with cars when they arrive but Derek isn’t really surprised. Still, Stiles directs Derek down the road towards the frat house and has him park in the fairly empty driveway.

“I made sure Scott saved us a spot,” Stiles tells him, “Since I live here I get dibs on the close parking.”

Derek follows Stiles out of the car and around the back of the house to where the party is apparently being held. It makes sense. It’s a nice night. They might as well make the most of it. Plus, it’s less clean up indoors and less worry about something being broken he imagines.

Stiles disappears only to return a moment later with two drinks in hand, one of which he holds out to Derek.

Derek takes the drink Stiles hands him, taking a sip and frowning at the taste, “What is this?”

“Some of the guys brew their own beer,” Stiles shrugs, “I know you can’t get drunk but figured it couldn’t hurt to keep up appearances.”

Derek doesn’t point out that if he was human and driving he wouldn’t be drinking anyway. Instead he takes another sip of the drink and then another until he’s finished most of the drink. He remembers trying beer when he was younger and it never tastes this good. This tastes sweet, almost flowery. Which is weird.

“Who made this?” Derek asks, pinching his eyes together when the room blurs a little. What the hell?

“Uhh I don’t know. Jackson and Ethan? And I think Danny.”

Derek’s eyes narrows, his eyes glowing yellow as he stares across the lawn at the beta werewolf. Stiles steps in front of him, putting his hands on his cheeks and drawing Derek’s attention.

“Derek? What the hell?” He says, voice barely audible over the music, “Why are you growling and flashing your eyes at Jackson?”

Ah. So that’s Jackson then. Of course the asshole that Stiles slept with would be a werewolf. Derek isn’t the least bit surprised. Stiles tends to land himself into ridiculous situations. Derek closes his eyes, trying to let himself calm down. The last thing he needs to do is cause at scene. Even though he’s pretty sure the beer Jackson and his friend made is tailored towards wolves.

“Stiles,” Derek says, “Jackson is a werewolf.”

“I totally knew it! That asshole!”

Derek sighs, taking Stiles’ hands off his face so he can lean down and tuck his face against Stiles’ neck. He nuzzles into it, telling himself it’s all for show. He wants this to look convincing in case Jackson is watching. That’s the whole point of this, after all. He also just needs the stability. The drink is affecting him more than he thought it would.

“What are you doing?” Stiles asks, his voice coming out a little shaky.

“Just enjoying being with my date,” Derek mumbles against the skin of his throat, “is that okay?”

“Yeah,” Stiles breathes, bringing a hand up to card through Derek’s hair. “Yeah it’s okay.”

“Stiles!” A female voice sounds to Stiles’ right causing Derek to stiffen. He knows that voice. He also knows how enamored Stiles had been with the person it belongs to.

“Hey Lydia,” Stiles says. Derek is sure he’s probably smiling. “Enjoying the party?”

Derek lifts his eyes to see Lydia eyeing him curiously before her attention shifts back to Stiles, “It’s alright for a frat party. Once you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all.”

“Yet you’re here,” Stiles comments.

“Jackson wanted me to come,” Lydia shrugs, looking to where Jackson is glowering in the corner of the room, “From what I hear he wanted the same thing from you last night.”

Derek barely suppresses the growl that threatens to escape at her words. It’s even harder when he feels Stiles tense, the hand in his hair stilling before resuming its menstruations.

“That was a mistake,” Stiles says. Derek is a little surprised when Stiles’ heart doesn’t skip at the words, “A huge one in fact. Something I’d rather not think about. Not when I’ve moved on to better things.”

“As I can see,” Lydia says, eyeing Derek again, “So how’d this finally happen?”

“I went to the station to see my Dad and Derek was working. We got to talking and next thing you know he’s agreeing to be my date tonight.”

“Just for tonight?”

“Hopefully more,” Stiles says, “if he’s up for it.”

Lydia snorts, “From the way he’s clinging to you and scent marking you I’d say he’s more than up for it, isn’t that right Derek?”

“Does everyone know about werewolves?” Derek mutters.

“Considering I’ve been in an on again off again relationship with one for the past 2 years it would make sense for me to know,” Lydia says, “and to anyone that is in the know you’re being pretty obvious right now.”

“He’s just a little overwhelmed by the party,” Stiles tells her.

Lydia doesn’t look convinced, “I’m sure.”

“Lydia,” Jackson’s bored voice sounds as he walks up next to her, “Stop talking to these two idiots and come dance or something.”

Lydia sends a glare his way, “Please. You don’t even like to dance. You just don’t like that the attention isn’t on you. Or maybe it’s the fact that Stiles has clearly moved on so quickly from your little tryst.”

“Please,” Jackson sneers, “There’s no way this is real. Stilinski probably just paid him off or begged him to pretend to be his date.”

Derek untangles himself from Stiles in favor of going for Jackson. Or at least that’s what he planned to do. What he winds up doing is stumbling and almost face planting in the grass, only being stopped by Stiles’ arms wrapping around him and pulling him back up.

“Easy big guy,” Stiles whispers in his ear. “He’s not worth it.”

“You need to show Stiles some respect,” Derek says, pointing a finger at Jackson.

Jackson rolls his eyes, “I’ll show him respect when he respects himself enough to not crawl into bed with anyone that will have him just because he’s too big of a coward to go after what he wants.”

Derek growls, charging towards Jackson and knocking him to the ground. He puts a hand around his throat, eyes flashing as he stares down at the beta, “You are not going to talk about him like that.”

“Woah,” Stiles grabs Derek’s arm and pulling him off Jackson, looking at him with wide eyes, “Come on Der. You don’t want to draw that much attention to yourself.”

Derek turns around, tucking his face back into Stiles neck. His emotions are all over the place right now and he’s not sure he likes it, “He shouldn’t talk about you like that.”

He hears Stiles sigh before he speaks to Jackson, “What the hell did you put in that beer dude?”

“Wait,” Jackson says, sounding amused, “Did the big idiot drink some?”

The ground moves as he’s pushed down until he’s sitting with his back against the house, watching with half lidded eyes as Stiles marches over to Jackson, showing a finger into his chest. He looks pissed, “What was in the beer you asshole?”

“Just a little wolfsbane,” Jackson shrugs.

“What the fuck?” Stiles shouts, shoving him in the chest, “Wolfsbane? Are you trying to poison him? And yourselves?”

Jackson rolls his eyes, “Relax. It’s not enough to hurt him or us. Just enough to lower our defenses so we can feel the effects of alcohol. Derek’s just apparently a lightweight. Or he drank it too fast.”

“You’re all a bunch of idiots,” Stiles mutters, then he’s kneeling down in front of Derek, his eyes worried as he looks at him, “Hey big guy, you think you can stand up?”

Derek nods, using the house to support him as he slowly gets to his feet, “Yeah, but I can’t drive.”

“Obviously not,” Stiles says, “you’re just going to sleep here tonight, okay? You can take my bed.”

Derek wants to argue but before he can Stiles is wrapping an arm around his waist and leading him into the house. “Hey Lyds?” he calls, “can you get some water please?”

There’s no response so Lydia must be close enough to nod her agreement.

“Why do people drink?” Derek asks as Stiles leads them towards the stairs, “This does not feel good.”

Stiles chuckles, “I imagine some people find the feeling nice. I wouldn’t know.”

“But you were drinking,” Derek says, moving his head to look at Stiles. He regrets it when the movement causes a sudden rush of dizziness to flood through him.

“I wasn’t,” Stiles says, easing the pair up the stairs “I mean, I had to cup but I wasn’t drinking it. I don’t like to. Not with my Dad…”

He cuts himself off with a shake of his head, and stays silent the rest of the way to his room. Once they’re there he sits Derek down on the edge of his bed and goes to his dresser. Derek falls back against the mattress and throws an arm over his eyes, listening as Stiles moves around. He moves his arm and blinks up at Stiles when the human clears his throat.

“I have sweats and a shirt if you want to change,” Stiles says, holding up the articles of clothing.

Derek nods, taking the clothes from Stiles and sitting up. Then he just sits there, unsure what he’s supposed to do. Does Stiles expect him to change in front of him? Or maybe attempt to make his way to the bathroom. Derek’s honestly feeling a little too tired and woozy from the wolfsbane beer to worry about it. He reaches down and pulls his shirt off, feeling proud of himself when he manages to do it without getting caught in it.

“Right umm… I’ll just go change in the bathroom,” Stiles says, and then all but runs from the room.

Derek changes into the sweats Stiles gave him as quickly as he can. It’s not easy, and he almost falls over a few times. By the time he’s done he’s ready to just crawl into bed and sleep. So he does, at least the crawling into bed part. He slips under Stiles’ covers and moves to the far side of the bed next to the wall.

He knows they never actually discussed sleeping arrangements but he's tired and slightly drunk brain isn’t thinking about that. It’s just drawn to the warmth of Stiles’ bed and the comfort he gets from Stiles’ scent. He closes his eyes, burying his face in the pillow, and inhaling deeply. He must doze off a bit because the next thing he knows the bed is dipping causing him to jump as his eyes fly open.

“It’s okay,” Stiles says, running a hand down his arm, “It’s okay Der. It’s just me. Go back to sleep.”

Derek nods, falling back against the pillows again. He tries to sleep but it’s hard having Stiles so close, wanting to touch but not knowing if he’s allowed.

“Stiles,” Derek whispers into the quiet of the room.

“Yeah Der?”

“Can we…?” Derek stops, taking a deep breath as he tries to figure out how to voice his question. “Can you hold me?”

There’s a beat of silence before Stiles’ quiet voice sounds in the room, “Yeah. Come here.”

He opens up his arms, looking at Derek expectantly. Derek only hesitates a moment before launching himself across the bed and into Stiles’ waiting arms. Stiles chuckles, wrapping an arm around Derek and pulling him closer as the other comes up to card through his hair.

“I always figured you were a closet cuddler,” Stiles says.

“Just with you,” Derek mumbles, releasing a happy sigh as he snuggles into the crook of Stiles neck. “You smell good.”

“You should sleep Der,” Stiles tells him.

Derek wants to argue. He wants to stay up and enjoy this moment while he can, but the movement of Stiles’ hand through his hair paired with Stiles’ scent and gentle breathing is enough to pull him towards sleep.

He has a moment to realize how easy it is for him to let himself be close to Stiles like this. Sure, he knows he’s still feeling the effects of the wolfsbane laced beer but this is more than that. This is something that’s always been there.

“I feel safe with you,” Derek murmurs, running his nose along Stiles throat.

He wonders if Stiles can sense just how huge that is, that those five simple words hold so much meaning. He thinks he probably does. If anyone can understand him it’s Stiles.

“I feel safe with you too Der,” Stiles says, his voice soft and fond. “Now go to sleep. We can talk more in the morning if you want to.”

“I always want to talk to you.”

Stiles groans, burying his face in Derek’s hair, “I’m really not sure if you should be saying these things right now.”

“I know what I’m saying,” Derek tells him, “And I mean every word. Morning or night, that won’t change.”

“Good to know. But you should still try and sleep. Lydia says the best way to get the wolfsbane out of your system is to sleep it off.”

“Okay,” Derek sighs, “And you’ll stay?”

“Yeah Derek, I’ll stay.”

 

Derek wakes up to a too bright room. He knows it’s too bright from the way the light pouring in from the curtains causes his head to pound. He groans and pulls the blanket up over his head in an attempt to escape.

“So apparently werewolves can get hangovers,” an amused voice sounds from the doorway, “go figure.”

“Stop yelling,” Derek moans, burying his face in the pillow.

It’s not until the familiar scent of Stiles hits his nose that he remembers where he is, and how he got here in the first place. He groans, burying his face further into the pillow.

“I didn’t even drink that much,” Derek whines, “This is bullshit.”

The bed dips and then there’s hand on his shoulder, “I know buddy. I think the drink was just a little too strong. Believe me, Jackson got a good talking to.”

“Good.”

“I wish I could do the whole leeching pain thing you guys can do,” Stiles sighs, “My buddy Scott has used it to help me out when I get bad migraines. Which… hold on.”

The bed dips again and then Derek hears the sound of Stiles’ feet retreating from the room. He closes his eyes, trying to will the pain to go away. It doesn’t. It’s just there, throbbing away and making him feel a little nauseous.

Stiles returns a few minutes later and Derek can hear heartbeats in the room besides his own. “Hey Der,” Stiles says, “Scott said he could help with the pain if you wanted him to.”

Derek starts to nod, only to grab his head when he’s hit with a sudden jolt of pain, “Please.”

There’s a light chuckle and then the covers are being pulled back slightly until the top of Derek’s head is peaking out. He blinks up at Stiles in confusion before turning his gaze to see another man with flopping hair grinning down at him. He brings his hand to Derek’s head and then leaves it there. Derek sighs, sinking back into the pillows when he feels the pain start to recede.

“Is that good?” Scott asks, moving to take his hand away.

“Yeah,” Derek says, “That’s a lot better. Thanks.”

“Anything for the man Stiles has been pining after for ages,” Scott says, earning a swat to the chest from Stiles.

Stiles grabs Scott by the arm and pulls him up, pushing him towards the door, ‘You can go now. Thanks buddy!”

He’s slamming the door in Scott’s face and leaning his head against it before Scott can even reply. Derek just stares at him, his brain still too fuzzy to really compute what’s happening. Stiles turns around to face him, raising an eyebrow when he sees Derek is still curled up in bed.

“Were you just planning to stay in bed all day big guy?”

“What time is it?” Derek asks.

“Oh only about noon,” Stiles says with a shrug.

“Noon?” Derek throws the covers off and sits up, regretting it when he’s hit with a sudden jolt of pain, “Shit. My Mom wanted to have lunch.”

“It’s okay,” Stiles tells him, “She called and I told her you’d be there, just a little bit late. From the way that she and Laura both laughed I think they assume you had a lot more fun last night than you really did.”

“I had fun,” Derek says, “I mean the end of the night wasn’t bad.”

“No,” Stiles says softly, “it certainly wasn’t.”

Derek slowly gets out of bed, looking for his discarded clothes. He debates pulling them back on but he knows his Mom would know they were his clothes from the night before in an instant. Not that she doesn’t already thinking something happened between him and Stiles last night, but still. It’s just better to go there as he is.

“I really need to brush my teeth,” Derek says, “my mouth tastes horrible.”

“Here,” Stiles opens a drawer and pulls out a brand new toothbrush. “I kept some extras just in case. Bathroom is down the hall to your left.”

Derek takes the toothbrush and a clean shirt Stiles hands him and heads down the hall to the bathroom. Luckily it’s free and he doesn’t pass anyone on the way there. He’s quick in the bathroom, wanting to get out of here as quick as possible. Not that he’s in any hurry to deal with his family, he just knows what his Mom is like when she’s kept waiting too long.

He returns to Stiles’ room to find Stiles changed into jeans and a new t-shirt. He smiles at Derek when he enters the room, holding out a bag with Derek’s clothes in it.

“Ready to go?” Stiles asks.

“Yeah,” Derek says, “Why are you…?”

Stiles rubs the back of his neck, giving Derek a shy smile, “Your Mom sort of made me agree to come to lunch with you? You know how she is. I couldn’t tell her no.”

Derek nods. He does know. Talia Hale can be very persuasive. And for all she knows he and Stiles are still dating so it would make sense for her to want him there. Derek just hadn’t planned on having to sit through another meal with his family while pretending to be dating Stiles. Especially not when they’re hungover.

“I’ll drive,” Stiles tells him, “You look like you’re still too hungover to.”

Derek doesn’t disagree. The room is still blurring slightly sometimes. He really doesn't understand why anyone would want to drink when it leaves you feeling like this.

“How will you get home?” Derek asks him.

“Dad can drive me,” Stiles shrugs, “or I can have Scott drive my jeep into town and we’ll ride back together.”

Derek just nods, grabbing his keys off the dresser and handing them to Stiles. He wouldn’t normally let someone else drive his car so easily, but he feels like hell and he trusts Stiles to not get in wreck and kill them both.

It’s only half an hour drive from the campus back to Beacon Hills, which is why Stiles spends so much time at home when he can. The drive back is silent, with only the sound of Stiles’ heartbeat and the tapping of his fingers against the wheel. Derek rests his head against the cool window and closes his eyes, letting the familiar sounds and scent of Stiles lull him to sleep.

***

He wakes up to the sound of screaming. His eyes fly open to see that his car is parked in front of his parent’s house but Stiles is nowhere to be found. What’s worse is he can see smoke billowing out of the house. Shit. Not again.

He unbuckles his seatbelt and throws himself out of the car. It’s not until he runs into the house and is hit with the stench of wolfsbane that he realizes the smoke isn’t from a fire after all, but the wolfsbane bombs that are currently being thrown around by the fucking gnomes running around his house.

He covers his nose and mouth with his shirt and tries to figure out where his family is. Where _Stiles_ is. He feels around blindly, using the wall for support as he closes his eyes against the sting of the smoke. He listens closely, moving towards the door to the basement when he hears voices coming from below.

There’s a boom to his left and then more smoke fills the room, signaling that a gnome had aimed for him, “We told you this was war!” One of the gnomes shouts and then suddenly the air shifts and Derek knows they’re locked in. Great.

Derek growls, wrenching open the door to the basement and stumbling down the stairs. He’ll deal with the gnomes. He just needs to check on his family first.

“Derek?” He hears Talia say and then the sound of coughing.

Then there are hands pulling him off the stairs and towards the window they’ve cracked open. He sees Stiles in the corner with Cora, who is hunched over and wheezing slightly.

“Is she okay?”

Talia nods, “She just had one of those wolfsbane bombs go off right in front of her face and inhaled too much smoke. She should be fine.”

“And you all are alright?” Derek asks, looking over at Talia and Laura.

“If by alright you mean pissed,” Laura hisses, “those fuckers showed up and started talking some bullshit about a dance off for the land. And Mom told them no. So then they charged in and started throwing those bombs around before we could do anything. Mom ran to get me and Cora and by then we were trapped. Stiles ran in and led us towards the basement, saying something about smoke rising.”

“He’s not wrong,” Talia says, “it is a lot less smoky down here.”

“But now we’re tapped.”

“I don’t think so,” Derek says, ‘it sounds like they went outside.”

“They probably couldn’t handle all the smoke either,” Stiles mutters, “those little bastards. Who do they think they are?”

They hear cackling outside the window and look up to the one of the gnomes beaming down at them, “We are now the rightful owners of this land.”

“Like hell you are!” Stiles shouts, he turns to Cora, “you good?”

Cora nods, leaning with her head against the wall, “Yeah, I’m fine. What are you…?”

“I’m handling this,” Stiles mutters, and then he takes off towards the stairs, ignoring the cries of Derek and his family. Derek runs towards the window and peeks outside, watching as Stiles runs down the porch steps with a baseball bat in hand.

“Screw you and your horrible dance moves!” Stiles shouts, swinging his bat and hitting one of the gnomes right in the stomach.

Derek watches with wide eyes as the gnome goes flying through the air. The other gnomes watch as well. For a moment Derek’s afraid that they’re going to attack so he shouts for Stiles through the window, “Stiles! Break the line!”

Stiles shoots a grin over his shoulder, breaking the line before turning back to the glaring gnomes, “You lot really want to take a chance with me? Because I swear if you don’t get your tiny asses out of here and leave the Hales alone I’m going to send all your asses flying.”

Derek listens to the conversation as he runs up the stairs and through the house, making his way towards the front door. He steps out into the warm air, expecting to see the gnomes putting up a fight. There’s more of them after all. Instead they look from Stiles to his bat and back again before ducking their heads and scurrying back into the trees.

Derek is honestly a little amazed by the whole thing. He runs up to Stiles, pulling him into his arms, “That was amazing,” he whispers against Stiles’ neck.

“Yeah well, someone had to save your asses,” Stiles says, bringing a hand up and carding it through Derek’s hair. “This is why it’s a good reason to keep a human around.”

“There are more reasons than that,” Derek says, pulling back to look at him, “and I definitely intend to keep you around Stiles. If you’ll let me.”

“As your friend?” Stiles asks, “Or something else?”

“Well I was hoping as my boyfriend,” Derek says, giving Stiles a shy smile, “My real one.”

Stiles gives Derek one of his favorite smiles, “I’m definitely okay with that. One thing though.”

“What’s that?”

“I want you to kiss me. For real this time.”

Derek is more than happy to comply. He leans in, kissing Stiles softly on the lips. He intends to keep it short and chaste, fully aware of his family watching them. But then Stiles grips his hair and changes the angle, causing Derek to moan and welcome Stiles tongue when it licks across the seam of his lips asking for entrance. All he can do is melt against Stiles, kissing him the way he’s dreamt of for so long.

“Come home with me,” Derek murmurs against Stiles’ lips when they pull back. He can see the shock on Stiles’ face at his words so he smiles, brushing their noses together. “We don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to. I just know neither of us have anything to do tomorrow so I kind of just want to cuddle and wake up with you tomorrow.”

Stiles gives him a soft smile as his fingers card through Derek’s hair, “Yeah okay. We can do that.”

**Author's Note:**

> (Fest Mod Note: This work was created for the 2018 Sterek Smooch Fest. Please follow the fest on [LJ](https://sterek-smooch.livejournal.com/) or [TUMBLR](https://sterek-smooch.tumblr.com/) to see the rest of the fabulous creations! Thank you!)


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